Of Prince's and Fraud's
by greatgirl22302
Summary: Saya is a princess of Renala, soon to be queen. In order to become queen, her Uncle, Amshel, is forcing her to marry one of the men he sends her from their neighboring kingdoms, Levarian. But does he have something else up his sleeve as well?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Saya stood on her balcony, overlooking the kingdom that would soon be hers. The kingdom of Renala was large, but her people had steadily been overtaken by the poverty war had brought upon them. One of her two neighboring kingdoms, Silania, had declared war on her own kingdom not long ago. She let out a soft sigh as she remembered the cause of the war…it was silly, really. Renala's population had been growing for quite some time now. To keep everyone from being too crowded, they had expanded their borders into the unused lands of Silania, and her other neighboring kingdom, Levarian. Naturally, Silania over-reacted, and declared war.

Unfortunately, since the kingdom of Renala was a typically peaceful place, despite its large size, had a rather small standing army. Silania was closing in on them, and the only thing they could do to prevent being taken over would be to form an alliance with Levarian…through marriage, of course. The Levarian kingdom was sending its finest royalty to her castle. Her uncle, Amshel, who was currently ruling Renala, said that normally her father would pick her husband, but due to the circumstances, she could pick a husband out of the Prince's brought from Levarian. Not only did she have to pick from total strangers,-and there was no guarantee she would like any of them-but she had only a short amount of time to choose before Silania would over run them completely.

She closed her eyes as the wind tossed her long black hair. The Levarian Royalty would be arriving tomorrow morning. As the older sister, she naturally got to choose first, while, her-barely-younger sister, Diva would be expected-though not forced to-choose from the remaining men. Sometimes Saya really questioned if Amshel cared about her feelings at all, or if he cared only for Diva.

Amshel had taken over her kingdom after her father passed away in the night due to an unknown disease. Since her mother, whose name was also Saya, died shortly after giving birth to her and Diva, Amshel was the only royalty of age to take over. However, since Amshel never had any children of his own, Saya would take the throne the day she was married, and her descendants would take the throne from there.

Saya moved silently away from her room's balcony, out her bedroom door, and made her way down the long hallway. Her room and her sister's room were the only two that occupied this wing of the castle. At least, that's how it is for tonight; tomorrow, when the princes' arrive, they will take the vacant rooms around her own. Saya wasn't sure how to react to all this, but for the moment she just hoped they weren't all perverted freaks. She could just hear Amshel scolding her now for having such thoughts. "These are royal princes', Saya, not peasant scum!" He would say. "Such thoughts are unbecoming of a soon to be queen!"

And maybe that was so. Still, she couldn't help but think the way she did. Whose right was it to tell her what she could and couldn't think anyway? Amshel scolded her all the time, even for the smallest things, like eating an extra cookie she snuck from the kitchen, or climbing the tree outside her window. Yet he never got onto Diva like that, even though she did way more reckless things than Saya did. She once confronted Amshel about this, but he completely dismissed it as "You are the one that will rule the Kingdom, Saya. It only makes sense to be harsh on you so that you turn out right."

Perhaps he did raise her right, after all, Saya had learned to be wary of suspicious people, to stay calm and respectful-even to those she didn't like-, and to be patient when awaiting anything. While Diva still acted like she was five years old, even though she was just shy of her sixteenth birthday. Not that royalty aged the same as peasants. Their life spans could last much longer than peasants, which was why marrying peasants was strictly forbidden.

Speaking of Diva; Saya peeked into her younger sister's room as she walked by it. Diva's beautiful singing voice floated out of the room as Saya cracked the door open. Diva was apparently getting voice lessons from Nathan right now. Nathan was a royal from Levarian that had taken a quick liking to Diva when they were younger, becoming her voice instructor, and a close friend of hers.

Saya, on the other hand, didn't have any friend's. The maids and servants always seemed very wary of her and her sister, and since the only royalty or nobility around seemed to ignore her or spend all their time with Diva, Saya had no one to hang around with. Save for her tutors and masters of course, which, naturally, gave her time to learn things like fencing (and boy was she good at fencing).

But Saya wasn't _always _alone. She had made friends with a boy when she was little. He was quite a bit older than her, but she didn't really care, so long as he was someone willing to play with her. He was tall with dark hair, and was definitely a royal, though after the two week visit he had spent at the castle, she never saw him again. She wondered if he was Levarian…if so, she may have picked her husband already. What better man to marry than one you liked as a child? Even though Amshel never seemed to like him…Saya supposed he would have to put up with him anyway, since he had given her permission to choose amongst the Levarian prince's. If he even was a Levarian prince.

She smiled to herself as she thought of the look Amshel would get if she chose some one that was the complete opposite of what he wanted for her. This could be very entertaining.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

_Authors note: Alright, there's the prologue. I promise the story won't be as boring as it sounds. Also, I haven't decided who should be paired with whom just yet, so if you guys have any suggestions let me know and I'll consider it. First person to comment gets to give me a person from blood+ to use as a maid/servant. Chevaliers are not available to be used as the maid/servant, however. Feel free to use anyone from the rest of the blood+ series, including the Schiff and minor characters._


	2. When the Prince's arrive

Chapter 1: When the prince's arrive.

Saya crawled out of bed early in the morning, the red silk nightgown she wore hanging loosely on her. It was one of her favorites; though the pink one she preferred…not that she didn't have several copies of each (She'd be devastated if one got ruined; it only makes sense to have a backup…or two). Even so, she definitely couldn't buy many new dresses right now; not when her kingdom's poverty was growing due to the war.

Yawning, Saya looked outside one of her pale pink curtained windows. The sun was shining dimly through the slowly brightening sky. Past dawn, but not yet after seven…and there was not a single Levarian carriage in the courtyard, or even in front of the Palace gates; for that matter.

Saya frowned slightly as she called for the maid that typically helped her get dressed. Could they have been delayed? The weather looked fine, and the road they were to travel seemed safe enough (not that she had actually been to that road). Perhaps something had happened along the way? Burglars were becoming more frequent of late, maybe they were ambushed? Though surely a group of prince's and their guards could easily overcome the robbers had such a thing occurred. Unless, of course, they were all traveling separately…

Saya's frown deepened slightly. Of course she wasn't looking forward to getting married so young, especially at a time like this, but she didn't want anything to happen to them. If something happened to hinder or kill them, what would become of her kingdom? This marriage would bond two powerful kingdoms, granting money to the people in need, and giving the armies a break as the Levarian soldiers stepped in. And besides all of that; this marriage could be just the spark of hope her people needed.

The small maid stepped into the room and helped Saya into the dress she picked out. The girl's name was Mui, and she was working at the castle along with her mother to earn money for the rest of her family. Since she was so young; working anywhere but beside Saya herself would be dangerous. Saya smiled at her as she finished lacing the strings on the back of her dress. "Thank you, Mui."

Mui smiled at her; her brown eyes lighting up. Saya guessed people didn't pay much attention to her. Even so, Mui didn't reply to her, and Saya didn't know if she would ever speak; she had just recently lost her eldest brother to the war, and the shock of it was so great it silenced her (Terror silence, to those who don't know). Though; she was catching on fast, becoming pretty good at communicating without words…of course, this could just be because her emotions shined through so much.

After Saya finished getting ready she followed Mui out the door and into the hallway. She walked into the main hall, extravagant it was, filled with portraits, flowers, and tapestries the world had never seen the likes of. However, Saya hardly paused at its beauty. She had grown up here, and the beauty that had stunned her so as a little girl had lost its hold on her.

She continued toward Amshel's study, knocking lightly on the door. He spent more of his time in here doing who-knows-what rather than sitting on the throne all day. Which was fine by Saya, who preferred the throne to stay empty before it was hers. It's not that she minded Amshel being around-after all, he had practically raised her-, but she couldn't shake the feeling he wasn't fit to sit on the throne.

Amshel opened the door just after she finished these thoughts. However, rather than allowing her in, he came out of the study, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Amshel, have the Levarian royals not arrived yet?" She asked, not trying to sound too curious.

Amshel petted the top of her head-she hated it when he did that-and smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry Saya. They were just delayed by an incident at home; one of their princes was reluctant to come and was giving everyone a hard time. They'll be here before noon."

Saya nodded as she moved away from Amshel's hand and smoothed out her hair. She didn't like it when he paid more attention to Diva then her, but she also disliked it when he tried to treat her like she was still a child. She was about to become queen; it was time to stop treating her like a little girl. "Well I'm glad to hear that."

Amshel started walking away from her; calling back to her. "Because of one of the prince's suggestions, I've sent out invitations for a ball tonight. It seems he thought this would be a good way for you to get to know each of them. I apologize for telling you last minute, but you should probably make sure you have a suitable dress ready." As soon as he was finished speaking, he rounded a corner, leaving her in front of the study, astonished.

He had arranged for a ball…In the middle of autumn, during a war, with suffering families attending? Was he insane? Sure, it probably wouldn't hurt anything to have one, but was this really the most appropriate time?

She sighed to herself as she walked to her room; throwing open her closet doors. After shuffling through her entire closet-which was no easy task, since her closet was huge-, she settled on a dress the fit her well, hugging the right places on her body to make her stand out even while she was with her sister. After all; it was hard to compete with someone that looks almost just like you, save for the eye color everyone seemed to prefer.

The dress itself went to her ankles-she wouldn't mind if it were a tad shorter, but knowing Amshel, any shorter than this and he would throw a fit-this would keep her from stepping on anyone's feet, and because the dresses skirt was so loose she could dance without the worry of it getting in her way. The torso of the dress was one of the few she had with laces in the front. The corset was a pale white color, while the fabric underneath was a slightly dark shade of pink. The skirt of the dress was actually a tad darker, but with the see through layer of white fabric on top of it, it was indistinguishable from the rest of the dress. She picked dark pink flats to go with it; it wouldn't do to dance in heels.

...0.0.0.

The rest of the day was spent mainly in her bedroom; she didn't come out for lunch, and she avoided leaving when someone else was outside her door. She didn't want anyone to see her before the dance tonight; at least, not any of the Levarian royals. She wanted to stun them when she walked into that ballroom tonight. In fact, the only moment she left her room was to step into Diva's about an hour before the ball was to begin; to help her pick out a dress to wear.

Diva's closet was actually bigger than hers, since she was always asking for more clothes. Saya didn't really mind; she could ask for more if she wanted, but Saya figured she had as much as she needed.

Diva held up a couple, both were blue. "Alright, so not that one…how about one of these?" Her sister's eyes matched the one on the left. Saya pointed to that one, and then helped her sister into it.

Saya smiled. "Perfect. You're going to have all the boys wrapped around your finger."

Diva laughed, playfully, as she twirled in front of the mirror. "Oh, but Saya, I already do!" Saya knew she was playing, but it was probably true. Most of the royals in her kingdom seemed to like Diva much more than her. Hopefully she'd at least be able to catch the attention of the prince's before Diva could take the spotlight.

Soon after finishing off Diva's outfit, she returned to her room to get into her own. Naturally, she called dear Mui to help her with it; though with this dress, there wasn't much help needed. Saya slipped her dress on and tightened the laces as Mui helped her with her shoes. Saya turned to her vanity, looking at the accessories she could add.

She chose a necklace on a silver chain, the pendant on the middle was small and red; an inheritance from her mother, and one of her favorites. She pulled up the sides of her hair with a clip; it looked pretty, but it was mainly to keep her hair out of her face while she was dancing. Diva may have been born with the best singing voice, but Saya was the best dancer.

Looking in the mirror, she adjusted a few things on her dress until she was satisfied with how it looked. And with that; she headed toward the ballroom.

...0

_Author's note: Alright, things will start picking up from here. I'm sorry if the chapter size is a little odd. I didn't know if you guys liked longer or shorter chapters… Well, anyway, read and review please!_

_p.s. I'm really sorry if I screwed up anyone's personality._


	3. Karman

_So, I still haven't decided who for sure Diva will get with. Saya's pairing is….pending. Anyway, I decided to make a different chapter for every character she dances with at the ball. So, here's the first one. _

Chapter 2: Karman

Saya arrives at the ball with Diva at her side; trying her best to calm herself as she moved to a table near the dance floor. Her heart was pounding insanely as she let her eyes glide over the room. Royals, nobles, and peasants were all mixed together. The Royals were easy to tell apart from the nobles and peasants, as were the nobles found with little difficulty compared to the others.

The royals stood apart from everyone but friends or relatives; sticking in close-knit circles the nobles and peasants could never hope to break into. The Royals were dressed in clothes almost as nice as her own; the men in suits and tuxedos, and the girls in skirts or dresses. Saya knew the majority of them, but there were a few that caught her eye. A few royals with mainly light-colored hair were scattered about the room; looking confused, lost, and out of place; despite the fancy clothes they were wearing. Just as her heart had begun to calm, it was speeding up again-why? The answer was very simple. These light-haired men could only mean one thing:

The Levarian Princes' had arrived.

Diva turned away from her sister soon after they walked in together. She needed to find a dance partner, and hanging around her sister wasn't going to help her. After all, Saya was required to dance with all male Royals who attended. Diva snuck a glance at one of the Levarian Royals standing near her. His hair wasn't as blonde as some of the others, darker, and he had a pair of glasses in his hhand; preparing to put them on. Diva raked her fingers through her black hair as she turned away from him; hitting him with her long locks. She supposed he was just good enough to be a prince, but she would never pick him. Besides, he looked like a smart aleck. And Diva hated smart alecks. Maybe Saya would pick him and save Diva the trouble of rejecting him.

The man Diva had glanced at was named Karman. Karman looked at Diva briefly as she passed; glaring at her as he was smacked with her hair, but his attention shifted to Saya soon afterward. He didn't want to be in this stupid castle, he didn't want to be near Saya's stupid sister, and he didn't want to be near stupid Saya herself. But he knew what he had to do, and it was time to put it in action. He briefly wondered who Saya would choose-depending on who, it could make his job easier or harder-but dismissed the thought quickly; it didn't matter. If his brothers decided they couldn't go through with it; he would. He would follow Amshel's orders, and then go home welcomed as a king.

Saya was leaning against a white pillar, waiting for someone to ask her to dance. Whoever approached her first would be a brave man. She looked up as the man with glasses came toward her. She looked at him and smiled softly. His eyes were narrowed-making it seem like he must have a bad temper-, a tight frown was locked on his face, and his hair was light. A Levarian Prince had finally approached her.

Karman gave her a swift bow and held his hand to her. She smiled at him in such a gentle way; his heart ached for a moment. He didn't expect her to be kind, fulfilling his orders could be harder if she was nice…but then again, looks could be deceiving. Who was to say she didn't just have a sweet smile compared to her rotten personality? "Are you princess Saya?" She nodded softly to him. "Then would you like to dance?"

"Of course I would." She took his hand and followed him to the dance floor. _He seems so….tense. _Saya gave his hand a soft squeeze. Maybe he just needed someone to lighten him up a little. "May I ask your name?"

Karman sighed softly to himself before replying. He hoped she wasn't one of those girls that always felt the need to start a conversation. Why couldn't women just keep quiet and mind their own business? "I'm Karman." His answer was simple, because he was a simple person. And boy did he hope she was simple too. Unfortunately, it was looking like this simple plan, was going to get endlessly more complicated.

Saya smiled wider. His arms rested exactly where they were supposed to as they started the dance; not awkwardly high, or too low to be acceptable. Even so, he didn't seem like he really wanted to dance with her; though he was the one to ask her in the first place.

It wasn't that Karman didn't want to dance-though he would have preferred not to-, or that he wasn't good at dancing, but rather; that he hadn't danced with anyone besides the maids(those that knew how, anyway) and his sister, Irene. Dancing with the maids was mainly how he practiced; since his sister was usually too busy to help with more than a dance or two. Still, it had been Irene that taught him to dance in the first place. When they were little she would take him to the castle's courtyard and they would dance around together. Of course, she danced with his other siblings as well.

Saya smiled as the music started to pick up; the song had changed. It was about time the music stopped being so slow and boring. She gave Karman a shining smile as she increased the speed of their dance. This song was one of her favorites, and she knew every step. Everyone in the castle did, since it was such a common song…it never occurred to her that the song wasn't as popular where he was from, and that none of the Levarian Prince's would know it.

Karman's eyes widened as Saya sped across the dance floor; tugging him along in her stead; one moment she had been standing quietly beside him; the next she was flying across the room, dancing around excitedly. Had she gone insane? No, she couldn't have…since everyone else was dancing that way too.

Saya noticed Karman lagging behind and slowed down; waiting for him to catch on. He ran into other couples, stepped on people's feet, and just plain fell down; yet he got up and kept going, and Saya smiled widely the moment he caught on.

Karman stumbled around awkwardly as he figured out the steps to the dance, and it didn't help that Saya kept getting faster every time she noticed he knew what to do next. Yet as they continued, he was getting better, and his steps weren't as off. Maybe this dance wasn't so bad after all.

Saya continued to increase the speed of her steps as Karman's capabilities increased. He was a fast learner and avoided falling again; keeping up with her in a way most others couldn't. Saya sighed inaudibly as she realized the dance would end soon, and right as his dancing was starting to look graceful.

Karman, as much as he hated to admit it, was having fun. He watched Saya's smile fade slightly as he danced. Was he doing it wrong…? He didn't think he had been…and then he noticed why; the song was ending. The music stopped along with the dancers, and as the music faded to silence; Saya and Karman stood chest-to-chest, their eyes locked on each other. They were too close, but only because Karman hadn't realized they were stopping quick enough. Saya smiled up at him, and he did something he hadn't done in a long time. He smiled back.


End file.
